Pennsylvania Police Charge Vending Vandal In Dozens Of Thefts

STATE COLLEGE, PA -- Police here have charged Kevin A. Holmesin a string of 61 thefts from vending machines over the past year. Police said the Altoona, PA, man allegedly stole $2,715 by prying open machines at several hotels in the area and caused another $23,012 in damages. Holmes faces similar charges in Blair County, where police say he broke into at least four vending machines, according to the Centre Daily Times.

Holmes faces felony counts of theft, receiving stolen property and criminal mischief and misdemeanor counts of possessing an instrument of crime. He is in the Centre County Correctional Facility after failing to post $50,000 bail, the newspaper reported.

Police began investigating the break-ins last November when they were approached by a local vending company about thefts dating back to April 2012. The vending company installed a camera at a hotel, which allegedly captured Holmes prying open the vending machine door and reaching inside to pocket the cash, police said in a criminal complaint.

State College police shared the images with other precincts, and were reportedly contacted by law enforcement officials in Blair County regarding Holmes' arrest there, the Centre Daily Times reported. He was briefly jailed in Blair County in January, during which time there were no thefts in State College area, according to police. Soon after his release from jail in late January, a surveillance camera at another hotel allegedly caught Holmes breaking into vending machine.

In February, police reportedly conducted surveillance at Holmes' residence and said they saw him wearing some of the same clothing he wore during the alleged thefts, the Centre Daily Times reported.